Spinal Health

By Angela C. Darling, DC, MSW

Dr. Venus Seleme

More Complementary & Integrative Healthcare Articles

Spinal Health

There are a plethora of ailments that affect your back and spine, including injuries, trauma, infections, and misalignments, called subluxations. A subluxation is a dysfunction in a vertebral joint or motion segment in the spine, which may hamper proper movement and nerve flow.Restoring the integrity of the spine through chiropractic adjustments, massage, pharmaceutical intervention or, at times, even surgery is essential to your health.

Stress from subluxations can wreak havoc throughout your body because they affect the nervous system. You can compare this type of nervous system interference to a kinked garden hose.When the water (the nerve signals) cannot flow due to the kink (the spinal misalignment), pressure will increase in the hose (nerve pressure or pain),the water will not reach the soil, seed or plant (the muscles, cells, or organs), and the plant (your body) may suffer.

Whether you are suffering from stress, flu, hormonal problems, depression, migraines, or cancer, having a healthy spine can help your body function better. There are times when your regular medical doctor may refer you to a chiropractor if they feel the problem may be helped through a spinal adjustment. And, it's becoming much more common that medical doctors and chiropractors work together and refer to each other, depending on the needs of the patient.

Regular health checkups are important and should include an evaluation of your spine as well. And, most people who have spinal misalignments do not feel pain from them. This is because not all the nerves in the body transmit pain signals to the brain.

You can liken this to the process of tooth decay. Dental caries may be present for a long time before a person feels pain. But you would not know they are there without being examined by a dentist. The same goes for a spinal subluxation your chiropractor is trained to detect and correct subluxations before they cause pain or alter your functioning.

Anyone with a spine should have regular spine checkups to assure it is working to the most optimal level. Even babies and children can have misalignments, which can be helped if the problem is found. They may sleep better, eat better, and have happier dispositions.

If you haven't talked to your doctor about your spine and nervous system, and how it is functioning, now is a good time. Your chiropractor physician can give you good advice about how you and your spine can live a healthy, productive life with less pain, better posture, and improved health.